Does Bilingualism Increase Stuttering?

Maybe, but I don’t think so. What we do know is that we don’t really know enough about how bilingualism interacts with stuttering. We know that bilingualism doesn’t make autism worse; we know that bilingualism doesn’t increase the risk of language impairment, so consistent with these findings; I think that bilingualism shouldn’t make stuttering worse. There is one study that reports that children who start learning their second language later in childhood bilinguals are less likely to stutter than bilinguals who start using both their languages from an early age. As pointed out however, it seems that the prevalence of stuttering in bilinguals is no higher (or maybe less) than that of monolinguals. I think however we need to get a handle on what stuttering looks like in bilinguals to make accurate diagnosis. We know for example that bilinguals demonstrate more tip of the tongue phenomena and that mazes (pauses, hesitations, reformulations) are different in different languages.

We recently completed a review of the literature examining published peer-reviewed articles that focused on bilingual or multilingual persons who stutter. We were curious about how researchers describe the bilingual or multilingual status of participants in their studies. What we found is that most studies included information about proficiency and we found a lot of inconsistency. About half the studies included information about bilingual history; and a little less than half included information about how people used their two (or more) languages. But, wouldn’t this be important for studies of bilinguals who stutter? It’s important to know when and how and why someone became bilingual. It would be important to know how much they use each of their languages and for what purpose(s). It would also help to know which of their two languages is better—or if they are equally proficient in both languages. These are some of the questions that could help us to understand how bilingualism and stuttering interact and would help researchers compare results across studies. So, it was surprising to find out that there are still many inconsistencies. I’m confident however that as people continue to study stuttering in bilinguals that more of these descriptions will be included.

In terms of clinical application, I think we need to be cautious and make sure that we’re not over-diagnosing or under-diagnosing stuttering. Because we don’t know enough about its manifestation in bilinguals we also don’t know if the same monolingual rules apply. So, I would probably want to observe some to make sure. On the other hand, you don’t want to wait too long before treating if it is true stuttering. I know that several people are working on these questions and we’ll know more before long.

As a bilingual and a person who stutters, I tend to stutter more when speaking Spanish (my second language). I suspect this is so because as a late learner (began in my mid-20’s) my vocabulary is still limited. With the limited vocabulary I then tend to focus more on what I am saying and whether i am choosing the correct word and /or pronunciation. As a person who stutters, I have experienced that when I focus on what I am saying –that is, focus on speech–whether in English and especially in Spanish, I stutter more. If my focus is on the person I am speaking to or something other than what I am saying and especially how I am saying it, my speech is much more fluent.

Thanks for the response Cesar. Your situation is a meaningful example of the dynamic nature of bilingualism in individuals who stutter, particularly in adults. Adults who stutter, unlike children, bring a unique set of challenges to the table that are often over-looked in research. As you described, ‘thinking’ about being fluent is often a recipe for less fluent speech, regardless of language spoken. Internal/external stressors such as this can contribute to difficulties maintaining fluent speech, regardless of dominance. As discussed in the article, the jury is still out for the precise interaction of stuttering and multilingualism. Increased stuttering in the less dominant language is certainly possible, but may have many origins. For example, a more restricted vocabulary may also limit use of certain strategies we adopt as adults who stutter, such as word substitution. It also may be a product of using a ‘less automatic’ speech production system. Much more research is required to disentangle the precise nature of the disorder in the context of bilingualism. But your response illustrates an important point – factors beyond language and speech itself need to be considered when examining stuttering in adult bilinguals.

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